M. X-C's Ragucci a true leader

On the basketball court, Anthony Ragucci is a point guard.

On the Penn men's cross country team, Ragucci's role is not too much different.

He has to lead, like a point guard.

He has the responsibility of making his teammates better, like a point guard.

And he distributes advice like a point guard distributes the basketball.

Ragucci, who is one of the Quakers' top two runners, is perhaps the most vocal leader on the Penn men's cross country team.

"At times, Anthony can be quite acerbic," coach Charlie Powell said. "Like Sean [McMillan, a captain in 1999], he'll get in people's faces."

He'll give tame advice on breathing and form. But he'll also raise his voice if necessary.

Perhaps Ragucci leads that way because of his experience working at a sheriff's office during the summer in his home state of Massachusetts. Or perhaps it's just the fiery point guard in him.

The 5'7" Ragucci -- who, finishing in 15th place, was Penn's No. 2 runner at Heps last year -- is a lifelong basketball player who didn't start running until just before his freshman year at Stoneham High. He joined the cross country team there because he was friends with the captain, and Stoneham had a small team.

And while Ragucci didn't exactly start off well ("The first two weeks were just terrible," he said), the brown-haired harrier moved up to fifth man on his team by the end of the fall and chose to run indoor track instead of playing basketball as a freshman.

Make no mistake about it, that was no easy decision for Ragucci.

"I still miss it a ton," he said. "In the summer I play a lot. I like to school the old varsity players in my grade."

Apparently, Ragucci does do some "schooling." Despite his height and maybe because of four-to-five hour marathon basketball sessions this summer, he is no pushover on the court.

"I can beat him at 21 because I can rebound," said Penn senior Matt Gioffre, a 5'7" teammate of Ragucci's. "But he can definitely beat me one-on-one. He's got moves."

Ragucci also has quite a bit of passion for the game. Penn freshman Lewis Hart saw that when Ragucci and junior Billy Moore played while the Quakers were at a camp two weeks ago.

And Ragucci said he sometimes sneaks down to Gimbel Gymnasium at night to join a pick-up game -- much to Powell's displeasure.

"He minds, so I don't tell him," said Ragucci, who also said that he doesn't play any hoops during a heavy racing season.

In slow times, though, it's tough to keep the sweet-shooting Ragucci out of the gym.

"It's a different competition than running, more team-oriented," said Ragucci, who has also translated basketball jumping ability into the steeplechase.

But either way, on the track or on the hardwood, Ragucci plays that got-to-be-a-leader point guard position.

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